France & The Alps Bicycling Maps and Guides

Greenways and Cycle Routes of France map highlights numerous international, national and regional cycling routes, indicating their official number and the type of road surface. The map includes QR codes for downloading descriptions of individual routes as well as for the EuroVelo and the Grand Itineraires Nationaux.

The base map is IGN's general road map of France with railway stations added. Map legend and a general description of the Greenways (voies vertes) network are in English and French languages. The map also provides brief descriptions in French of the EuroVelo routes and selected National Trails.
Sample detail from the france Greenways and cycle routes map.

$13.99

64-5664-924

1 sheet, folded.

France Bicycling Maps. There is finally a bicycling map series for France - the new CycloGuides published by the French IGN. There are currently 6 with many more to come. There are also three series that show bicycle trails on them - these series are highly recommended for mountain biking and road biking. These series highlight the national and regional parks in France as well as other popular tourist and outdoor recreation areas. The 1:100,000 topographic map series offers excellent detail for choosing back-road routes.

France 1:75,000 topographic hiking/cycling map series. 1:75,000. France IGN.
This series highlights the most popular tourist regions of France on GPS compatible, contoured topographic maps at 1:75,000. This series highlights local and long-distance hiking paths, cycling routes and sites for other recreational activities. Each sheet includes five large inset maps at 1:25,000 which cover its most popular areas in greater detail.

The 1:75,000 cartography is an enlargement of the mapping used in the IGN's 1:100,000 series. Contours are at 40m intervals, enhanced by relief shading; vegetation type is shown using additional coloring. Boundaries of national parks and other protected areas are marked. An overprint highlights long-distance GR hiking routes and cycling trails. Symbols indicate various places of interest including mountain refuges and gîtes d'etape, areas for other recreational pursuits such as climbing, hand gliding or water and winter sports, historic or cultural sites, etc. The maps have a UTM grid and an index of communes. Map legend includes English.

France TOP100 Topographic and Cycling Maps. 1:100,000. France IGN. France IGN is replacing its famous 1:100,000 series with a new 1:100,000 topographic series called TOP100. This new series, which now has yellow-green covers, offers complete coverage of France in 76 sheets (up from the 74 sheet of the current series). So far 47 new series sheets have been issued, with the remaining 29 sheets to be published in March, 2010. Note that because of the increase from 74 to 76 sheets, the sheet boundaries of the new series are not the same from the current editions. Because of this, there is no direct correlation between the new sheet numbers and the old, so please check the indexes carefully before you order. I have linked both the new index (for sheets numbered 101-176) and the old index (2008, for sheets numbered 1-74). This way, if you are used to using a particular sheet, you can check to see which of the new series you will need to replace it.
Also linked below is an image comparing the same area in the new edition and in the previous edition. This way you can easily see the changes in the series - roads are emphasized, less clutter, GR routes are marked, etc.
Click here. Comparison of new series to previous series, over the same map area.
Click here. Larger sample of the new series cartography.
Click here. This index shows both the coverage of the new (2009, sheets numbered 101-176) series maps and the coverage of the current map sheets that will not be replaced by the new series until March 2010.
Click here.This index shows the previous (2008, sheets numbered 1-74) index map so that you can see how the coverage and map boundaries differ from an old series map to the new series.
Click here to see the index for the entire new series.

France Cycling Maps - CycloGuides. France IGN, 2008. This is a new series of cycling maps from the French IGN, which will eventually cover all of France. Each CycloGuide includes an index map showing the various described routes, and separate small folio sheets for each route in the CycloGuide. Each CycloGuide describes between 12 and 25 circuit routes; none of the routes are piont to point. Each folio includes the four sections illustrated below (click the yellow "sample" buttons); a detailed route map, a route description, a chart showing available tourist services, an altitude profile, and a chart of useful addresses. In French only.
NOTE: Each guide covers a single department - the number of the guide corresponds to the department number on the index map linked below.
Sketch map showing coverage of the guides.Sample of a route description.Sample of a route map.Sample of an altitude profile and available services chart.Sample of an "useful addresses" chart.

$32.99

64-56601-03

#3 - L'Allier. 24 circuits.

$32.99

64-56601-09

#9 - L'Ariège Pyrénées. 24 circuits.

$32.99

64-56601-12

#12 - L'Aveyron. 24 circuits.

$32.99

64-56601-36

#36 - Le Berry. 24 circuits.

$32.99

64-56601-15

#15 - Le Cantal. 25 circuits.

$29.99

64-56601-79

#79 - Les Deux-Sevres. 12 circuits.

$29.99

64-56601-28

#28 - L'Eure et Loire. 12 circuits.

$32.99

64-56601-52

#52 - La Haute-Marne. 24 circuits.

$32.99

64-56601-40

#40 - Les Landes. 24 circuits.

$34.99

64-56601-56

#56 - Le Morbihan. 24 circuits.

$29.99

64-56601-86

#86 - La Vienne. 12 circuits.

$29.99

64-56601-78

#78 - Les Yvelines. 12 circuits.

Cycle Touring in France. Cicerone. This new guide describes 8 selected 1- or 2-week bicycle tours for cyclists of all levels a taste of France's diverse landscapes & superb scenery. Covering some of the most picturesque parts of Brittany, Picardy, Alsace, Auvergne/Languedoc, Provence, Dordogne/Lot, theAlps and Pyrenees, the tours in this guide are accompanied by detailed route descriptions & maps, lists of campsites, bed and breakfasts & hotels, airport & rail connections, and practical info on when to go & what to take, transporting your bicycle, and being prepared for making bike repairs while on the road.

Cycling the French Alps. By Paul Henderson. Cicerone Press, UK. Cycle Touring in the French Alps' presents a personal selection of the most picturesque cycling routes through the mountains of South-east France. The eight tours - seven circuits plus the 'Grand Traverse' from Geneva to Nice - include the 'classic' high passes of the French Alps (Galibier, Iseran, Izoard, etc) as well as many lesser known areas of the pre-Alps and Southern Jura.
Although all of the tours are in mountain areas, the scenery - from the rolling hills of the Bugey to the dramatic limestone gorges of the Chartreusesnowy peaks of the Ecrins - is extremely varied. Without neglecting the 'must-see' places, the tours have been designed to take you through the secret corners and forgotten backwaters of the regions described; even amongst the most awe-inspiring mountains, it is often the more discreet facets of the countryside that reveal an area's true charm. The author recommends several maps, most of which are listed below. The author also recommends the Michelin "300" series of maps as secondary maps - however this series has been discontinued by Michelin and is no longer available.

$22.99

64-56981FC

Cycling the French Alps Guide

Cycling the River Loire - The Way of St. Martin. By John Higginson. Cicerone, UK. The River Loire invites cyclists to explore it. Without a stifling cycle way artificially created along the river's banks, the route is instead accompanied by an abundance of country lanes, tempting cyclists to find those hidden gems which make this journey an unending pleasure. The route has something for everyone. It includes dramatic vistas from high above the Ardeche Gorge, lazy days of flat riding through fields of indolent cattle, the chance to explore vineyards producing someworld's finest vintages and the great collection of castles and palaces which line the river's banks.
The author recommends several France IGN 1:100,000 topographic maps to accompany the guide; these maps are listed below.

$27.95

64-56981LO

Cycling the River Loire Guide.

Loire Radweg Cycling Guide. 1:75,000. Bikeline. This guide covers the 494-km route along the Loire from Orleans to St Nazaire. An additional short route going west from Orleans to Sully-sur-Loire is also described. Accommodation recommendations are included. 139 pages, spiral-bound. In German.
Index of the route.Sample of a map.

$19.99

66-2279-LO

Guide.

The Way of St. James: Le Puy to Santiago - A Cyclist's Guide. By John Higginson. Cicerone Press. The new edition of the Way of Saint James Cyclist's Guide (researched and written during the Holy Year of 2004) provides an up-to-date description of this ever-popular 1570km cycle route from Le Puy in France to Santaigo de Compostela in Spain.
By using roads with a good surface for touring cyclists, this guide attempts to follow the original pilgrimage route as closely as possible and offers the opportunity to visit every major church and shrine along the way with a few detours to outlying monasteries for good measure. The average distance on most days is only 50km, easily within the compass of the moderately fit.
The guide includes routes from Santiago to Finisterre and Padron for those cyclists who want that little extra, while several variants are mentioned to cater for the fit and not-so-fit pilgrim.
There is a comprehensive kit list and an English-French-Spanish list of essential words for the journey, as well as details of accommodation in gites d'ètape, chambres d'hote, hotels, refugios and hostals.

$24.95

65-32961SK

Guide

Provence Cycling Guide. Bikeline. In English. This atlas follows a circular itinerary around Provence, to cover Arles, Nimes, Avignon, Carpentras and the Camargue Regional Park. Each section has detailed maps, photos, descriptions of interesting things to do and see along the route, local tourist information offices contact numbers. An appendix lists accommodation.
Index of routes covered.Sample of the maps in the guide.Sample of the text in the guide.